It is a side issue on the day that the remaining hostages came home and the Gaza peace deal was sealed, but David Maddox, our political editor, asks an interesting question: why does the US president keep rescuing the British prime minister from potential embarrassments?
After Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, and the Israeli government poured scorn on cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson's claim that the UK played a significant role behind the scenes in securing the Gaza deal, Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's special envoy, almost certainly under instruction from the US president, said yes, Britain did play a "vital role". (See "Quotation of the Day" below.)
What is more, he specifically praised Jonathan Powell, the UK national security adviser, who is under pressure because of the collapse of the Chinese spy trial.
As Maddox says, Trump has helped Starmer out over the Chagos deal (negotiated by Powell); by allowing Peter Mandelson to be ambassador to the US; by giving the UK the first tariff deal; and by praising him as a tough negotiator.
Why? Possibly because he needs an ally and enjoyed the prestige of last month's state visit.
The president was not so helpful to Tony Blair, Starmer's predecessor, who also did a lot of backroom work, drafting the 20-point post-conflict plan. Trump told reporters on the plane to Israel that he wanted to "find out" if Blair would be "popular with all" as a member of the Gaza transitional council.
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